Can't Let You Go
by RedCoral
Summary: Post 3x01: "Don't ask me to say that I don't love you." That's what Oliver said to Felicity. "I told you as soon as we talked, it would be over." Oliver let Felicity go, thinking he was unable to be Oliver and the Arrow at the same time. But what happens when his worlds collide? What happens when Felicity is kidnapped by someone who is looking for the Arrow's identity?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! **

**This is a short story that got into my mind. What would really happen if Felicity got hurt by one of Oliver's enemies? How would the characters react?**

**It's happening after the 3x01 episode. I hope you like it!**

**This chapter was inspired by the song Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

"Don't ask me to say that I don't love you." That's what Oliver said to Felicity two nights after the explosion, after their first date.

Felicity grabbed his hands, and pushed them away from her face, "I told you as soon as we talked, it would be over," and that was what she said back. That was how she held her breath, and took a step back away from him. That was how she begged her heart to hold on just for a little more, just until she was out of his sight. That was how she began to say goodbye to a very big part of her, to Oliver Queen. She felt her eyes water, her eyesight was blurred. She was just following the path she took to come here in the hospital without really seeing, but as she turned the corner, as she could no longer feel Oliver's eyes on her back, she let everything go. She let the pain go, the pain that was now shuttering her heart in a million pieces, knowing she would never have what she desired most, the life she dreamed of, the man she dreamed of sharing it with. _"I thought that I could be me and the Arrow, but I can't, not now, maybe not ever"_, Oliver had said that, and ever since the moment those word escaped his lips, they were playing over and over again in Felicity's mind. It was like a broken record, not stopping for a moment until you put its batteries out or until you grabbed it and threw it to the floor, stepping on it repeatedly afterwards.

Felicity didn't know how she managed to get home alive. The drive back was one of the most reckless things she had ever done, as the tears hadn't stopped falling yet, blurring her vision, making the lights of the opposite cars look like the end of two tunnels, tunnels she felt like she couldn't get out of. But she made it home unscratched, but mentally broken. This was the time in her life that she knew she had to move on, she had to let go and forget about the dazzling, irresistible Oliver Queen. It was the time of that nasty break-up, the time of the ending, but without, though, getting to experience the beginning first. Without getting to experience the first date, second one, late-night movie nights, the cuddling on the couch when the movie ended, when someone fell asleep before the other. She didn't get to experience the soft touches, the stolen kisses, the first time, or falling asleep in a warm pair of arms where she felt safe, as safe as she has never felt before. All she got to experience was the heartache of everything she missed, of a life she won't get to have, of the man she had to work with and face every day denying every emotion, every feeling she ever had for him – still has for him.

The next couple of days she called in sick for work, told Diggle she didn't feel well, that she needed to stay home. Diggle, though, knew what she really meant; she needed to stay away, even if it's just to get used to the numbing pain in her chest. She needed time away from Oliver, away from saving the world at night. Oliver didn't really need her. He had managed well on his own before he met her, he could manage for a couple of days without her.

Those couple of days passed her by in a blur of silent tears, moping, ice cream and chick-flick romantic movies, where the girl always got the boy and the other way around, movies where the protagonists got a happy ending, an ending she didn't get to have. She fed on the possibility that there are other fish in the sea, but her heart didn't really buy that. Her heart knew what she wanted; she wanted what she couldn't have.

If you asked Felicity, she would tell you that those days went by too fast for her liking. The next day, morning found her sleeping on her couch and she knew she had to get up and face the day, even if that day included Oliver Queen. She got up from the couch, leaving her blanket behind and hopped in the shower, washing away the heartache, locking away the chapter of the life called 'Loving Oliver Queen' in the depths of her mind's hard-drive, and a couple of hours later she was ready to face the first day back out into the world head on.

She thankfully arrived on time at her job at the electronic store, where a load of work was waiting for her. She dealt with it fast and the customers were polite that day, drinking up her advice, buying the project she suggested for whatever they wanted to do with it. Everything was moving along normally, all until Ray Palmer showed up. When she saw him walk in, she tried to escape to the break room, but unfortunately he had already seen her.

"Felicity!" he called out to her.

She closed her eyes, took in a big deep breath, and turned around to look at him. He was a customer after all and she didn't want to get fired from the only way of income she had. He was wearing a fancy dark suit with a white shirt and black tie. She would have found him awfully attractive if she didn't currently blame him for taking Oliver's company, for being the reason she worked here in the first place and for being an annoying brat. "Ray- I mean Mr. Palmer. What are you doing here?" she asked with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"I'm here to ask you to work for me, of course." He said, wearing that smile of his that women would fall for, but not Felicity. This one was different.

She sighed, rolling her eyes and said "I've told you I don't want to-"

He put up a hand to stop her, "No, wait. Hear me out first." He saw Felicity draw her lips in a tight line, putting her hand on her waist, waiting for him to go on. He could tell her patience was wearing thin, but that's what intrigued him about her. When he crossed a line, she would retaliate in the most genius way possible. She is a valuable asset to his company and he wouldn't stop until he got her. "You know how I want you to work for me? Well, you kind of already are," he said shrugging his shoulders, as if it's no big deal. At her confused look he explained "I bought the store yesterday. I came to tell you, but they told me you were sick, so here I am. I am just offering you a better position. I am offering you a job with a way higher salary which you will always receive on time, your own office and the chance to get out of those flattering, but still, if I may, hideous clothes. So, what do you say?" He asked, drumming his fingers on the desk excited, buzzing with energy.

Felicity looked at him considering his offer. He was persistent, she had to give him that. Under other circumstances she wouldn't even think about it, but now she and Oliver were done, she had no reason to want to spend that much time with him; she had no reason to defend him, to be mad at Ray for taking over his company. They were just friends. Surely, Oliver would understand. And either way, Ray Palmer was already her boss; why not take the better job? It was time for her to move on, why not start with taking a new job? But she would not make it that easy for him. "Fine-" she started to say, but Ray interrupted with a loud exclamation of "Yes!" while throwing his fist in the air victoriously. "But!" Felicity said pointing her finger at him, which made Ray stop and look at her questioningly, "I have two conditions. First, I'm going to have a flexible schedule."

"How flexible?" he asked raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

Felicity blushed by the look he was giving her and the fact that she couldn't really tell him about her late night activities, "I might have some emergencies from time to time that I will need to take care off."

"Done."

"And second, I am never, ever, ever bringing you coffee." She insisted on the word ever to get her message across, and if the full-teeth smile he wore was anything to go by, he had no objections.

"Welcome to Palmer Technologies, Felicity Smoak." He said spreading his arms wide. When he realized he hadn't told her the news about the new name, he backtracked, "Oh, I changed the logo. Queen Consolidated has gotten kind of old," he said scrunching up his face, "You don't mind, do you?"

"No-No. I-I don't," she stuttered. She wondered briefly if Oliver knew and what he said about it, but she shook her head and the thought flew away. "It's your company."

"Good." He smiled. "Why don't you come with me to show you around in your new office? Let's not waste any more time here." He asked, offering his arm, like a proper gentleman.

"I don't think I'm properly dressed. As you said, they might be flattering, but they are hideous." Felicity said looking down at herself.

Ray smiled mischievously, "Don't worry, I've got that covered. Shall we?"

Felicity hesitated for a moment, but then she took his arm and walked out of the little store, saying goodbye to the chapter of her life that closed, and turned to a new white page, thinking it was time for her to write a new story in her life, a story with a happy ending.

* * *

She walked in the now Palmer Technologies and she stayed behind, looking around in wonder. The exterior of the building, or even the interior of it for that matter, did not look any different. But the new logo was everywhere, people were hassling on and about and for some reason it overwhelmed her. The stepped into the elevator, Ray holding the door for her, and got out on the floor where Oliver Queen's office used to be. Now it was Ray's. As they walked in, Felicity was once again amazed by the sight in front of her. Not of the wide space, but of the deep pink dress that was hanging in the middle of the room on a rack. "What is this?" She asked in a small voice, getting closer to it.

"A dress?"

"I know it's a dress. Why is it here?"

"It's for you." Ray said, a wide smile on his face.

Felicity turned around to look at him, "For me? But this must cost like a thousand dollars. Definitely more than I make in a month." She muttered the last part to herself.

"Don't worry," Ray said walking towards her, "consider this a welcoming gift." he put his hands in his pockets and said, "Well, I'll let you change. I'll be in my office when you're ready." He turned around to leave, but Felicity's voice stopped him.

"Wait! You mean this is not your office? Whose office is this?"

"It's yours, Felicity." He smiled. He turned to leave again, but stopped abruptly as he forgot to tell her something, "When you're done, just press the red button and your assistant will come in to tell you where to find me." He smiled again one last time at her and left.

Felicity was frozen in her place, the new information being too much to process. "I have an assistant?" She asked the empty space in front of her. She didn't expect any reply though, so she grabbed the dress, and got to work.

The rest of the day at work went by uneventful. Granted, she almost got lost trying to find Ray's office, but that was just another day for her. Ray got them to work right away. He guided her through it, he gave her tasks to complete on her own and he asked her opinion on some future project he had on the rocks. Felicity found that, bitterness against him aside, it was pleasant to work with Ray Palmer. She found it refreshing. He had a brilliant mind and innovative ideas. The pain in her heart lessened by being around him, almost forgotten. But her work was over, and it was time to go to her night job. It was time for her to be there for Oliver Queen.

She took a breath, walked out of her office and went to the building's garage. She found her car and got in. She stared at the wheel for a moment, bracing herself for what she was about to do. She needed to not be an emotional mess. For once in her life, it was what she needed most. She shook her head. She didn't waste any more time contemplating on things. She just started the car and shortly arrived at VERDANT. She momentarily considered calling Diggle and telling him she was still not feeling well enough, but she wouldn't back out of this. She was going to get out of her car, walk in the Arrow's cave and pretend like nothing has happened, like nothing hurts, like she wasn't dying a little bit more inside every time she watched Oliver walk away from her, like everything was okay.

And that was what she did, or tried to do. As she walked down the last steps, Oliver turned towards her and their eyes locked. He wore the mask he always did around people, the mask that left no emotion in sight, the mask that everything was fine, that he was fine. But she could see right through it. She always could. And right now she saw the pain in his eyes, she saw his heart break, she saw sadness overtake him, she saw longing hiding in those blue orbs. And she found it unfair. She found it unfair that he was feeling that way, when he was the one who told her they couldn't be together. He chose this for them, all Felicity did was to confirm that choice for him. But he pushed her away. That was what he always did. He pulled her in only to push her away further and further each time. This injustice caused a spark of anger inside her, without which she wouldn't have been able to deal. She turned her face into steel, showing no emotion, no sign that something was wrong. She ignored Oliver completely. She just took her place by her babies, her computers.

As she passed him by, Oliver asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, not looking at him. She turned around in her chair and looked in the general direction of where the three men were standing and asked lightly playing with the red pen in her hand, "So, who are we hunting down today?"

"We don't know," Diggle answered.

"What do you mean?" Felicity asked confused.

"He means that someone broke in the Starling City Police Department and I need you to find them and what they stole." Oliver explained.

"Got it!" she spun around in her chair to her computer and started pressing frantically the buttons, knowing the steps she had to go through by heart. She hacked into the police department's security system very easily and said, "It seems like our Starling City's finest don't have the best security system in the world, so I managed to get in right away. They don't have any cameras in the file room, but they do need to swipe their employment card to get in, thankfully. What time did the break-in happen?"

"Around ten o'clock," Oliver said.

"Okay… running it now… And voila! His name is Michael James Richardson. He is a rookie, only been in the department a couple of years. His RAP-sheet is clean and he lives somewhere in the Glades." She turned around to look at them, "unfortunately I don't know what he stole, because they don't have cameras and they haven't digitalized all of their data yet."

"That's okay. We can work with that. Let's find him." Oliver grabbed his bow and costume, and the three men left, leaving Felicity alone to her own devices.

Oliver had avoided looking at her this whole time, and when he did, she could feel his gaze burning on her skin. She could feel it following her movements and stopping every time she turned back around towards them. But she couldn't think of Oliver right now. She needed to focus on tonight's mission.

* * *

Oliver arrived outside of a one-story wooden house with no lawn in front of it. Of course, in the Glades it was rare to see a house that had a lawn. The neighborhood was poor. Its inhabitants barely had the money to get by, leading them to a life of a criminal, doing whatever they had to do to survive. Here the law of the jungle was the only law ever being followed and Oliver was painfully aware of that. He was constantly reminded of it every time he pulled an arrow pointing it to a criminal that could be a good husband, a good father, but he had to do whatever it took for his family to stay alive. He was reminded of it every time he pointed his arrow at just another lost soul that followed an ugly path. He knew though, that not everyone was like that. There were people out there who enjoyed what they did. They enjoyed taking the life away from their enemies. And the man inside that house could be one of those people. He wouldn't let his guard down.

"Roy," he spoke on the Bluetooth, "are you in position?" Roy was supposed to guard the back entrance in case the man tried to flee the scene, while he was to go in from the front door and find out what they needed to know.

"I am," Roy said back.

"Diggle?" Oliver asked. Diggle was supposed to stay in the van and look around for any suspicious movements. He was also the man that would get them out in case the situation turned ugly in there.

"In position."

"I'm going in," Oliver said and tore down the front door with a kick. Inside he found a young looking man with dark hair and light skin, wearing a stamped t-shirt and jeans, sitting on his computer, typing furiously. When he heard the door go down, his head snapped up, got up from his chair, making one step back, and he lifted his hands as if he was giving up. Oliver was pointing an arrow at his heart when he said in the gruff mechanical voice, "Michael James Richardson. Where is the file?"

"What file?" The man asked scared, continuously looking at the arrow in front of him.

"The file you stole from the police department!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Michael said, his voice trembling.

Oliver let the arrow fly as a warning shot, scratching the man's ear, landing on the wall behind him. "Where is it?!"

Michael let out a cry as he felt the arrow cut his skin. He knew that was just a warning, next time the archer wouldn't miss. "Fine. I'll tell you." He said, holding his bleeding ear. "Don't shoot, it's right there," he pointed at a number of files on his desk. He slowly grabbed them and tossed them to the archer.

"What did you want with them?" The Arrow asked, not grabbing the files yet, not until he knew all he was looking for.

Michael saw the Arrow get closer and closer. He saw the arrow steady in the archer's hands, knowing that if he didn't cooperate, the Arrow was not going to be kind with him. "I was paid to steal them and e-mail them to this address. I was going to give it back tonight, I swear!"

Oliver didn't care if the man was going to return the files or not. He didn't care if the man meant to right the wrong. He only needed to know who put him up to it. "Who paid you?"

"I don't know," Michael shook his head, "I never met him."

Oliver pressed his lips in a tight line and threw an explosive arrow between them that was just for show, grabbed the files and took off. "Let's go," he said to Diggle, and a second later he was driving right in front of Oliver, letting him in with Roy already in the back.

"Did you get the file?" Diggle asked.

"Yes, I did," Oliver said looking it over. "Just a bunch of old cases, all kinds of stuff. Let's go back and we'll see what's the meaning of all these there."

Diggle had no objection to that. He just drove straight to the Arrow's cave.

* * *

Felicity was just fooling around with her computers, upgrading their system, writing new codes for future use, things like that. She was waiting until the guys needed her expertise, but apparently they had everything under control so far. Suddenly her phone rang and she answered it without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Felicity, I've been calling the Arrow, but he must have it on silent mode because he's not answering."

"Detective-" she said, turning away from her computer, "sorry, I meant Captain Lance. Yeah, the Arrow… is not here at the moment. Is there something you want me to tell him?"

"I want his help on case ASAP. I can't say what, but would you mind meeting with me to give you the files? I wouldn't insist if it wasn't important."

Felicity was shocked, but it was obvious from his tense and secretive tone that it was something of great importance. "Uhm – yes - sure."

"I'll text you when and where." That was all Captain Lance said and hung up.

Felicity looked at the phone curiously replaying the conversation she just had, but then she just shrugged her shoulders and went on with her system upgrading. Few minutes later she received a text from Captain Lance's phone, telling her to meet him behind VERDANT as soon as she could. She got suspicious at first, thinking that there was no way he could possibly know her exact location. She just wrote it off as a coincidence, that he was probably somewhere around there and that was the least crowded immediate place he could think of. She grabbed her cell-phone with it and went out the back door, but no one was there. Maybe Captain Lance was being late. She looked to her right, but before she could turn to her left, she felt someone grab her from behind. She tried to scream, but before even a vocal could get out, a hand was shutting her mouth, making her unable to call for help. She thrashed around in the guy's arms, trying to kick him wherever she could, but he didn't budge. All her mind could think of was what a stupid idea it had been to come out here alone. Her mind kept picturing Oliver again and again and she wished that wasn't the case, because they said that before you die, you see the people you love the most before your eyes. It hurt too much, if that was really the case for her. All she felt was something pierce her neck, as her hand let go of her cell phone, before darkness engulfed her.

* * *

Oliver, Diggle and Roy arrived at the lair, but they found it empty. Felicity's things were still there, so they paid no mind to her absence, thinking that she must be in the bathroom.

"So, let's see what's in those files," Diggle said, while Oliver gave them to him. He flipped through them one after the other, reading their description, trying to see the point in stealing them.

"I don't know," Oliver said, putting his hands behind his head, walking around, "they're just a bunch of cases. Breaking and entering, racketeering, assault, attempted assault, drugs… All kinds of stuff, but there's no connection."

Diggle paid more attention to the names on the files, figuring out something interesting. "Oliver, all of these are your cases."

Oliver turned to him confused, "What are you talking about?"

Diggle looked at him meaningfully, "These are all the men the Arrow has helped the Starling City Police Department arrest. These are the cases of the guys you put away, Oliver."

Oliver looked at him, still in his green hood, realizing something. Someone was looking for him. Someone was investigating him. Dread filled his stomach at the realization. Something was wrong. "Where is Felicity?" he asked looking around. Even if she had been in the bathroom, she would have come out by now. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Her purse is here. She doesn't go anywhere without her purse," Diggle observed.

"Diggle, you check upstairs, I'll go out the back door, and Roy, check the front. Now." His voice was calm, but his heart was racing. If anything happened to Felicity… No, he couldn't let his mind go there. If it did, there was no coming back, and he had a task to complete. He ran up the stairs, and got out through the back door. He looked around into the night for any sign of her, but he found nothing. Before he went back inside, he saw something shine on the ground. He kneeled to grab it. It was her phone. At that moment Oliver knew. Felicity was gone.

* * *

**So what did you think?Would you like me to continue it? Would you like me to write what happened to the first chapter in Oliver's POV, or just go on with the plot?**

**Review, follow, favorite! Anything you want! I'd really appreciate your opinion on this!**

**Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everyone!**

**Before we get to the chapter, I can't thank enough everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited this story. So, thank you amazing people! Thank you who everyone that read the story, and I hope you like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the show. **

**Enjoy! **

Oliver ran back to the lair, only to find the other two already there waiting for him. He looked at them just in case something else was going on, just in case that she had simply dropped her phone. However, he knew that Felicity was gone. He could feel it in his gut, and he was rarely wrong when something bad was about to happen.

"There's no sign of her," Diggle said.

Oliver looked at Roy, but he said "Nothing."

"I know," Oliver whispered_. I just wish I was wrong_, he added in his head. "I found this in the alley behind the club." He handed out the phone, not daring to look into the others' eyes, not wanting them to see the emotion behind them. "She's gone."

Roy took Felicity's phone, contemplating on whether he should invade her privacy like that, but one look at Oliver and he realized this was a life or death situation. What mattered was finding Felicity in time unharmed, and if that meant searching her phone, then so be it.

Oliver let Roy do his thing with Felicity's phone. This time his past of criminality came in handy for them. He leaned against the metal table, putting both of his hands forward to support the weight. He felt as if his legs would give out any minute now. He should have been here. He should have been faster, he should have kept her talking during the mission and not leave her alone. He shouldn't have pushed her away. It was his fault. Usually she would tell them if she even went to the bathroom, but this time she didn't, because Oliver had pushed her away he had hurt her and she didn't want to talk to him about anything unnecessary. She didn't want to say anything she didn't have to. He had made things strained between them. He only ever meant to keep her safe, and now she was anything but. He failed her. He denied his feelings for her in favor of her safety, but it seemed he was unable to guarantee that no matter how hard he tried.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder that took him away from his thoughts and back to reality. He looked up to find Diggle standing next to him, looking at him concerned. "We're going to find her, Oliver. And we're going to find whoever did this."

Oliver stood on his own feet, determination filling his body. His back went straight, his posture tense. He said, "You're right. We are." He looked hard into John's eyes as he said the next sentence, showing him how serious he was, how critical this was for him, "And I am going to kill him."

"Hey, check this out," Roy interrupted and beckoned them over.

Oliver tried to ignore the ting of annoyance and the pang of anger as he saw Roy look over Felicity's personal information, information that he wished no one but he had access to. He needed to put his feelings aside for this. He couldn't let himself be a liability driven by emotions, acting recklessly, endangering Felicity even more than he already had. No, there was no chance in hell he would fail her this time.

"What did you find?" Diggle asked as they walked towards the still red-clothed archer.

"She received a text from Captain Lance," Roy said, handing them the phone, "two texts actually." He noticed that both of the texts mentioned addresses, but only one of them a time. In fact only the second one mentioned a timeline. "A meeting or something?" he guessed.

Diggle looked at the screen of the phone and guessed the same as Roy did. But something didn't add up. "But why text her twice?" He asked, looking at the two men next to him. "Why meet at two different places?"

Oliver looked at it trying to figure out what was going on, but whatever his mind thought of was too bad to even fathom as a reality. Only a certain someone could explain this. "Let's find out," he said as he turned away from the two men and got his phone out of his pocket. He scrolled in his contact list and after finding the one he was looking for, he made sure his voice would sound mechanical and put the phone to his ear. It hadn't rung twice, before the one on the end of the line picked it up. "Captain Lance, we need to talk."

* * *

He was driving his black van across town, listening to soft music as to not wake up his passenger. He chuckled as that word passed his mind. The gorgeous blonde knocked out in the back was anything but a passenger. She was the ticket he had been looking for. The ticket to the greatest performance of time. A performance where he got to defeat the Arrow and set the world straight. All this time he had been looking for him, the Arrow. He had roamed the streets of Starling City day and night trying to find him, but it was as if the man was invisible. Now, he had the most precious thing in the vigilante's life. The Arrow had proven time and time again how much he valued Ms. Smoak's life. Not everyone knew, but if you were observant enough, you could figure it out. And now he held her life in his bare hands. He was done chasing him. He was done running after him. He was done hunting. "It's time for you to come to me, Arrow," he muttered into the still night. It was time to make the greatest performance of times come to life.

* * *

"Where did you say you found this?" Roy asked, as Oliver hung up the phone, ready to leave.

"In the alley behind the club. Why?" He asked, stepping closer to him.

"Don't we have surveillance cameras back there?"

"Yeah, I think Felicity installed some when she joined the team," John observed.

"If she did, then maybe I can find him," Roy said as he took a seat in front of Felicity's computers. When he had been injected with the Mirakuru and Oliver had asked him to stay behind, he had spent enough time around Felicity to learn how to access the building's cameras and run the facial recognition program. Though, he was not her, so it was probably going to take some time until he had results.

"Okay, see what you can find while I talk with Captain Lance. Diggle go home. Lyla needs you and I don't want an ARGUS team on my back because you didn't get her to the hospital soon enough," Oliver said as he went to climb the stairs, but Diggle's response stopped him in his wake.

"Not a chance," Diggle crossed his arms on his chest.

"Diggle…" Oliver sighed, but before he could even figure out what he wanted to say, John was already speaking.

"No, Oliver. She's my friend. And I'm not going anywhere until we get her back." He saw Oliver open his mouth to speak and he interrupted him again, while raising his hand to stop him from talking, "Lyla will understand."

Oliver sighed in defeat, "Fine." With him and Felicity he did not always get his way. They were both stubborn as hell when they set their mind on something and when they especially teamed up against him, he knew he had no chance. Just her name passing his mind pained his heart. He couldn't bear the thought of her being hurt. He just wished her captor was after him, that he will leave her alone, because if not… He didn't let his mind go down that path. He looked one last time at Diggle and left to meet Captain Lance.

He met him at the rooftop of the SCPD's headquarters. As Oliver arrived he found Lance already waiting for him, leaning at the door to the roof.

"I knew something was wrong when Felicity didn't show up. What happened?" he asked standing up.

Oliver, of course, avoided the question. He needed some information first. "Why did you ask her to meet?" he asked in his mechanical voice.

"I was trying to reach you, but you must have been out or something because you weren't answering, so I called her."

Oliver pressed his lips in a tight line, trying to contain his anger. What was so important that he would call Felicity and not wait for him?

"I swear I wouldn't have called her if it wasn't important. This is a… special case," Lance said as he handed him some documents, "that needs to stay between us."

"What is it?" Oliver asked.

"There is a snitch in the department. Last night he stole all the Arrow cases from the archives."

"I know. Richardson. I already paid him a visit." Oliver interrupted.

"You did? When?" Lance asked confused.

"About an hour ago."

"That's not possible. He is working the night shift and an hour ago I saw him in the department. I saw him walk away and I called Felicity. But then I lost him. There's been no sign of him ever since," he explained.

Oliver was confused. He did visit the guy. He pointed an arrow at him and asked him about the files. The guy gave them to him. But how could he be in two places at once? He opened the files and looked at them. He saw the photo of the man he visited stare back at him, but that was not all he found out. He read on the file, paying attention to every single detail, until he found the only possible explanation. He had a brother named Johnathan Evan Richardson and they were born on the same day. He did visit the right house, but the man he pointed the arrow at was his twin. He paid a visit to the brother. But why did he give him the files? He was obviously in on the mission whatever it was, but why did he give up what they had been looking for? "Thank you, Captain Lance." Oliver said and went to leave.

"Is Felicity okay?"

Oliver stopped with his back turned to the Captain and said, "She will be. Thanks to you," and left to tell the others everything he had found out.

* * *

When Felicity got back her senses, the world was spinning. It was as if she had been put in a washing machine and the damn thing just didn't stop moving. She opened her eyes briefly, but she saw nothing. No light, no wall to indicate where she was, just pure nothing. She could feel the darkness lurking around the corner waiting to engulf her in her arms once again, but no she couldn't let her get close. She needed to figure out what was going on. God, she was so cold. She opened her eyes again and she could see a dark soulless room that was definitely not her apartment or the lair. Her glasses had slipped down her nose in her search and she tried to move her hand to move them up, but she couldn't. She tried again and looked down to see it wrapped in chains. She tried to move the other one, but it was the same.

Wait, why was she in chains? Where was she? How did she get here? She started to panic, thrashing around, trying to get out of the hold the chains had on her, but she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough. She started panicking, looking around for any kind of clue that could tell her where she was. Damn, if only she had her tablet right now.

Wait. Did that mean she was missing? Was anyone looking for her? Her body froze as her mind tried to remember what had happened. She had been alone at the foundry when Captain Lance had called her about something. That meant that Oliver didn't know she was gone. But he was bound to find out, right? Right? He is bound to look for her at one point or another. The more she thought about it, the worst scenarios got into her mind. She couldn't breathe. Fear had taken over her body, fear for the unknown, fear that she may never see again the ones she loved. She started thrashing out again, pushing and pulling her chains, trying to move her legs, but they were chained at the wooden chair too. "Help!" she started screaming again and again, but she was met only with the echo of her voice.

Suddenly, she heard a sound like a chair scraping against the floor and she stopped every movement. She stopped breathing too, but she found that didn't last long. She should have taken those swimming lessons when she had been a teenager. The sound was low enough, that it couldn't have come from this room. Then the door opened, letting some light in, letting Felicity see a tall figure walk in the room. The figure must have turned on a switch, because suddenly Felicity couldn't see. As her eyes adjusted to the sudden illumination, she found a light bulb hanging above her head. She felt like she was in one of those action-Rambo-like movies being interrogated. The bad thing was that most of them entailed a lot of blood and she didn't think she was ready for that.

"Ah! Sleeping Beauty awakes! Finally!" The man said. His voice was that of a young man, but it scared her. She couldn't explain it, but it had that crazy edge to it, like any madman in any movies. _Damn it Smoak, you need to stop watching that much TV,_ she scolded herself. She couldn't see him, he was standing beyond the circle the lightbulb could reach. She didn't know what to say. Was she even aloud to say anything? She just said the first thing that came into mind, "Can you loosen them a bit?" She whispered, pulling her chains. "They're tight."

The man stepped forward and all she saw was an ordinary looking young guy. The kind of guy that if you passed by him, you wouldn't even notice him unless he literally bumped into you. But that normal face had carved on it the most wicked smirk, one that was definitely the runner-up of The Count's. "Sorry princess," he said in his wicked but enthralling voice, "but you have small delicate hands that could slip right through if I did that." He stepped right up to her face, leaning down to grab one of her hands, looking at it closely. "Not that I'd let you go anywhere, but I'd hate to have to break them because you didn't listen." He let them go and looked right into her eyes as he said the next sentence, "You and I are going to have fun. What do you say? Are you up for it?"

He didn't give her the chance to respond. He just walked away to a tray she just noticed and when she did all air left her lungs. There on the tray there were all kinds of weapons and tools. She didn't know what they did; she didn't like those kinds of movies. Too much bloodbath for her taste. But it seemed as though she was about to experience it firsthand.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

Oliver got back to the foundry after talking to Captain Lance to find the two men huddled around the computer screen. "What did you find?" he asked as he walked towards them.

"We found who took her," Roy said, "But…"

"But what?" Oliver asked impatiently.

"It doesn't make sense. It can't be." He said turning to the left with the chair and let Oliver see the face on the screen.

There on the screen was the face he had been seeing a lot today. It was the young man, one of the twins. He was wearing black clothes and had his hoodie up, but as Felicity was thrashing in his arms, he accidentally looked towards the camera. He closed his eyes, not wanting to watch Felicity like that anymore. He couldn't imagine the panic she must have felt. He didn't want to imagine it. He just wanted to get her back. "Have you ID-ed him yet?"

"But we know him." Roy said.

"How can the guy be at two places at once? We had just gotten out of his house at that time. He couldn't have come here faster than us." Diggle observed looking at the time stamp on the screen.

"That's because he didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Captain Lance gave me some files," Oliver explained handing them out to Diggle.

Diggle opened them, and looked at the man in the photo, "That's our guy."

"He is, but the man we found earlier wasn't."

"What are you talking about?" Roy asked confused.

"Michael was the one who stole the files from the SCPD, but he was working the night shift tonight, so it couldn't have been him that we saw at his house. Which means that it was his twin brother, Johnathan. So while we were talking to him, Michael was here looking for Felicity."

"But why give us the files? Didn't Michael need them or something?"

"I don't know." Oliver shook his head lightly. "We need to find her Dig. Before it's too late."

"We can't track him." Roy said.

Oliver turned to him, barely containing his anger, "What do you mean we can't track him?"

"It means that he has no cell phone registered to him, no properties, no nothing. He only has a landline and I think it's safe to say Felicity's not there."

"Check again," Oliver ordered through gritted teeth.

"I did. Three times already. There's no way to track him." Roy wished he had something else to say, he wished things were different, he wished he was more like Felicity. He was sure she would have found some buried digital trail by now that could have helped them. But she wasn't here, and they needed to save her. They needed to get their friend back.

"There is," Oliver said grabbing his bow. It was time to pay the brother another visit.

Diggle following his trail of thought stood up immediately, "We're coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Oliver you're not going after the evil twins on your own. We're coming with you," Diggle said with finality.

Oliver didn't say anything, he just nodded and climbed the stairs, hearing the others follow him. He'd better give up his brother's location, or else.

* * *

For the past minute or so, the man had been circling her, looking at her from head to toes, seizing her up. His look made her uncomfortable. She felt like a piece of meat, and she hated it when a man gave her that kind of vibe. She tried to hold back her tears at the thought of what this man could do to her, of what this man would do to her. But she couldn't hold back the whimper that escaped her lips as fear and dread settled in her stomach. She couldn't help the shiver from raking her body as she saw him smirking deviously at her. Felicity didn't know what to do. She felt helpless and she hated it. All that training with Diggle had escaped her at the moment of need.

He stopped right in front of her, and said, "Well this is how it's going to go." He took a step closer to her, putting her hair behind her shoulder to uncover her beautiful face. "We are going to play 20 questions, and you need to answer honestly." He moved even closer, his lips almost touching her ear, "If you don't, I will make you," he whispered.

Felicity felt something metallic touch her throat, something sharp. She didn't need to look down to know what it was. She felt his breath on her ear and she fought to keep the shudder at bay. "Is that clear?" He whispered. Do you know how villains are always the sexy ones? Well, being on the receiving end Felicity could tell you there was nothing sexy about it. She couldn't speak. It was as if her tongue was tied. She was afraid her voice would break if she managed to speak, or maybe it wouldn't come out at all, so she closed her eyes and nodded, wishing this cold thing would get away from her neck. When it did, she opened one eye to look in front of her, and when she didn't see him, she immediately relaxed. But her relief was short-lived as she felt him stand behind her.

"Let's start with something easy. What is your full name?"

"Felicity Meghan Smoak," she croaked. Felicity cursed her mouth for working without her consent. She should have stayed silent, delay him as much as she could afford, giving herself more time to live.

"Correct!"

"No shit, Sherlock." Felicity mumbled under her breath.

He abruptly turned to her, grabbing her chin, forcing her eyes to look into his, "What was that?"

"Nothing." She said in a broken voice. She could see he didn't believe her, but he let her go figuring out it was nothing important.

"Where do you work?" he asked next.

"At a small electronics store." Damn her unfiltered mouth. She always spoke before she even thought and while others found it adorable, this time it could get her killed. Or even worse, someone else could get killed because of something she said. After all, she didn't really know what the man wanted from her.

"What are you best at?"

"Hacking." She answered immediately. Okay, she needed to focus. Or this will not turn out well.

"Good! You passed your first test." He said as he rounded in front of her. "Now, it's time for your final exam." He leaned over her, supporting his weight with his upper limbs on the chair's arms. "Who is the vigilante?"

Felicity froze, the air failed to find its way to her lungs, her mind started spinning. No, this couldn't be happening. This couldn't be about Oliver. Damn him and his predictions. Maybe she'd suggest him to become a fortune-teller next time she sees him. If she ever sees him again. Oliver has done so much for her. He has protected her, he has kept her safe. She tried to repeat in her mind time and time again that this was no different, that he will find her, that any minute now he's going to tear down that door and save her. He is coming for her. He always comes for her. She just needed to hold on a while longer and if she learnt anything from those movies on TV is that the right answers drive you closer to the end.

She tried to get as far away as she could from her assailant, but there was only so far she could go being chained and all. "I don't know what you're talking about," she almost whispered, trying hard to conceal the lie in her voice.

The man in front of her narrowed his eyes at her and said, "Wrong answer. Let's try this again." He paused for a moment looking into her eyes, and asked, "Who is the vigilante?"

"I don't know." Felicity insisted, her voice breaking at the thought of what he was going to do to her now. She didn't want to find out.

The man sighed disappointed, turning his back to her. "And here I thought we were doing do well." He turned face her and continued, taking a step closer as he spoke, "We were getting to know each other better, you know?" He looked at her with such an innocent look; she should have known it was for show. Suddenly a cry escaped her lips, before she even registered why. She felt an abrupt pain on her abdomen, and she looked down at herself finding blood dripping from a wound he had abruptly just now carved into her skin. Her eyes widened at the sight. _This is going to leave a nasty scar_, she thought to herself.

The young man continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "But alas, you had to lie, didn't you?" He asked her, his voice dripping with venom and hate. His voice softened to a sickening tone as he said, "But don't you worry your pretty head about it. We're going to fix that," He said, stroking her hair as if she was a delicate doll.

_Why couldn't I stay with my computers and sent a hologram or something to meet the Captain? Why did I have to be so stupid and get out of the Arrow cave?_ She thought to herself closing her eyes, the pain from the gash on her stomach spreading throughout her body, taking over her brain. She couldn't stop the tears from falling no matter how much she wished she could. The whole situation was hitting her like a brick and she couldn't breathe. She had been kidnapped and was currently being tortured because some crazy person wanted to get up close and personal with the Arrow, and she was in the middle of it all.

"No, no, no, no, no, don't cry." He said softly, caressing her cheek with his thumb. He ignored her flinch as their skin touched and continued talking to her in a, what he thought, was a soothing voice, "Everything's going to be okay, huh? If you're a good girl, we'll be done before you know it. Okay? Now, let me guide you through this." He didn't wait for her response, she still wasn't looking at him, but the clock was ticking and she was not going to be the obstacle to him obtaining his goal. He would not hesitate to eliminate her if he had to. "I will ask a question, and you will answer. If you don't, I'll punish you for it." She still wasn't looking at him and the fact only added fuel to his boiling anger. His voice turned dead cold as the next sentence was spoken, "Do you understand me?" He watched her as her eyes popped open and widened as she realized she was in big trouble now. She nodded and she saw the strength in her eyes, strength that she didn't even know she had. He could see she would be hard to break. But one look at the tray with his toys, he realized he didn't mind. He was going to break her even if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

**It was a very difficult chapter to write. So, Felicity's captor is just a psychopath. But will Oliver manage to defeat him? Will he get there on time? Will he kill him? There's only one chapter left!**

**Tell me what you think! Review, follow, favorite, anything you want!**

**Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone!**

**So this is the last chapter of this story, and I'd like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited it. I hope I did this justice and I hope you like this ending. It's a slightly longer chapter that the others, but I saw no reason to make it in two parts. **

**So, thank you everyone for your support!**

**Enjoy!**

The three men arrived at the house they earlier had been at. The door was back into place and other than the light dust brought by the force of the door being knocked down, everything else seemed normal, as if it was just another house he was passing by on his way to the mansion. But no matter Oliver's wishes, that wasn't the case. This was no random house. This house was the only source of fast delivered information he could find in a short amount of time that could tell him where Felicity was being held. Her life was hanging by a thread and there was no room for mistakes.

He stared down the door, pushing down his guilt and worry for the one he loves, and brought to the front of his mind the numbing pain, the flaring anger and boiling rage at whoever dared to touch what was his, whoever dared to hurt the only person who he knew would be his undoing. He made a promise to himself right then and there. The man behind this was going to regret ever going after him; he was going to regret it all.

With that thought in his mind, he kicked down the door once again, knowing already that Roy was coming from the back entrance and John was outside ready to act if anything went south.

He found the man, Johnathan, once again typing away frantically at his keyboard. He startled as he saw the door fall down, but this time he was obviously done acting afraid for his life. Instead he leaned back on his desk chair putting his hands behind his head, saying lightly "I must have done something real bad to deserve a second visit from the Arrow in a night. So, what gives?"

Oliver grunted his teeth containing his anger, but at the same time not pushing it in the back of his mind. Right now it was the only emotion that could keep him in check. He looked over the man, observing his relaxed posture down to the knowing smirk on his face that for some reason told Oliver that something was off, but he didn't dwell on it. "You have information you failed to mention earlier. And I am here to get it." He put an arrow on his bow and pointed it right on the man's head as he said, "one way, or another." He was pleased to see the smirk falter on the man's face, but it didn't last long. It seemed he was not going to make this easy for either of them.

"So, if as you say I failed to mention it the last time, what makes you think I'm going to mention it this time around?" He asked in a frustratingly relaxed and carefree tone that had Oliver sitting on edge.

"We're here to convince you." Oliver said in his mechanical voice as he saw Roy step in the room silently.

Johnathan sat up abruptly, "Wait…we?" he asked looking around.

Oliver found that interesting. He obviously had no idea about the extension of team Arrow. Or for some reason he didn't expect him to be here. Either way he was mistaken. "You should have done your homework, Johnathan. Now where is Felicity Smoak?"

The man looked at him confused and asked, "Who?"

"Where is the woman your brother kidnapped?!" Oliver asked getting angrier every time a location did not come out of his mouth, moving one step closer to his target.

"I have no idea who you're talking about! Michael didn't kidnap anyone! I swear!"

Either his brother had not let him in on the whole plan, or he was playing them once again. No matter which was the case, he was going to find out where Michael was at the moment. "Show him." Oliver ordered and Roy got out his phone to show Johnathan the footage of when his brother kidnapped Felicity. He looked at his expression as it got from confusion to recognition to frustration and finally settled in betrayal. Apparently his brother had had different plans all along, plans he had had no intention of sharing.

"The bastard!" Johnathan shouted, hitting his fist on his desk. He got up and paced the floor, all of his feelings overwhelming him, begging for an outlet.

Oliver had no time and no care in the world about some brothers' rivalry, and it was time he got focused on his goal and only, and find Felicity. "Where is Michael?!"

"No! If there's anyone who's going to find him, that's me." He pushed the chair in Oliver's direction, thinking Roy would be easier to beat in close combat, but before the chair had even reached him the arrow had flown out of his bow, piercing the man's hand, pinning him to the wall. He didn't even register the cry that left the man's lips. All he saw was red. "Where is he?" He asked stepping even closer to the target.

The man suddenly laughed maniacally. "You know, my brother warned me about you. He told me what nutcase you really are. So forgive me, but I'd rather not say anything." He said and made a zipping motion over his lips with his free hand.

"Fine with me." Oliver said and got ready to shoot.

"Oliver!" Diggle warned through the comm listening in of what was happening, but Oliver didn't care. He didn't listen. He was ready to do whatever it took to save Felicity, the one he would die protecting if it got to that. He would kill again if it meant getting her back in his arms safe and sound and his. He didn't listen to Diggle, he just let the arrow fly, letting it find its target. But then he watched it fall to the ground as another arrow intercepted its course. He looked up to see Roy stand in the kitchen's door that led to the living room where he was. "What are you doing?" he said through gritted teeth.

"The right thing." Roy said, as he pointed another arrow at the man they were questioning.

The said man was now grinning like a madman, as if he just won the lottery or something. "Ohhh, I sense some conflict here. Are you sure you don't want to talk it out before we continue with our chit chat?"

"Positive." Oliver said as he let an arrow fly at the man, scraping his neck giving him his final warning.

"Remember, we need him alive, Oliver," Diggle reminded him over the Bluetooth.

Oliver stepped forward, giving his bow to Roy and kneeled in front of Johnathan. His hand was pinned on the wall one foot off the ground and he had to sit on the floor if he wanted to be comfortable. At the moment though he was crouching, and when Oliver got near him he tried to move back, but there was nowhere he could go. He got an arrow from his quiver and pushed it with just the right force in the man's right ankle. The man cried out and blood was rushing out from the wound, but Oliver wasn't fazed. He could feel the shocked look Roy was giving him, but he didn't let it get to him. He couldn't. "I just hit the Dorsalis Pedis Artery. You are going to bleed out right here in 6 minutes unless you get medical help. And I can guarantee you nobody's calling anyone until I get my answers."

* * *

Felicity was terrified. The wound on her stomach hurt as if a bear had scratched her, not that she knew what it felt like to be scratched by a bear. She just knew the intensity of the pain combined with the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling was almost too much to handle. The man was getting more and more impatient by the second and she knew her luck was wearing thin. She closed her eyes trying to think of green fields and little red houses and kids running around, rainbows and unicorns. Anything to calm her racing heart. But the only thing that could do the trick was Oliver's face behind her closed eyelids. That was the only way she felt calm, the only way she felt hope. The man's voice brought her out of her calming process, pushing her back to reality, putting her back in chains.

"We could start all over again if you want to, but it's going to take time." He said looking at her doubtfully.

"I-I thought we had time." She almost whispered her voice breaking.

He looked at her thoughtfully, a small smile playing on his lips, "We do, don't we? Well then," he paused for dramatic effect, "who is the man behind the mask?" he asked leaning in so close, that the blonde woman had no choice but to look at him back.

"Batman?" Felicity said. For once her mouth said the right thing. She knew her reply didn't help her case, but Oliver had kept her safe for so long, it was time for her to return the favor. Okay, it might be due to that growing feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she laid her eyes on him. Her heart was beating for him, but she was not ready to admit it yet. So if anyone asked, yes, it was just to return the favor. Not that anyone would ask, except Diggle, and maybe Captain Lance-

The man's harsh laugh interrupted her thoughts. She looked at him, his head thrown back as he laughed, his hands leaning on the chair's arms. He suddenly stood up with his back straight and smirked at her deviously. "I like you," he admitted pointing at her, "you know how to have fun."

He walked closer, letting the knife he was holding shine under the light, showing Felicity her own blood on the blade. Her heart started beating faster and faster as he saw him bring it closer and closer to her pale skin. "I will be so sad when I'll have to kill you," he whispered, as he pressed the blade, slashing her skin slowly and agonizingly right under her collarbone, feeding on her screams of pain, thriving in the infliction as her head was thrown back, her eyes shut, his soul filling with pleasure and contempt he hadn't felt in a while. He would truly be sad when he had to get rid of her. But not even a beautiful blonde with the most fulfilling reactions to his display of dominance could get in his way. "Tell me, why are you lying to me?" he asked her in a low voice, stroking her hair.

"I-I'm not." He saw the man stand up and turn away from here. He started pacing around, shaking his head, pushing his hands in his hair in frustration. She could see him losing it. She needed to convince him she was telling the truth. "I swear. I-I'm not lying."

"Stop lying to me!" he screamed at her as he turned and punched her in the face with such force, that she spat blood. He couldn't take it anymore. The clock was ticking and all that came out of her mouth was lies. He had been good to her so far. Apparently he had to up his game a notch. Fine, if that's the way she wanted it, that's the way she was going to have it. "Who is man under the hood?!" he screamed.

"I don't know!"

"Liar!" The sound that resonated after the last punch seemed to echo in the room for minutes after. It made her ears buzz, her vision to become blurry, the darkness to get one step closer to her. He could see her eyes flutter, but he didn't let them close. He grabbed her chin violently and shook her, "No! Don't you dare drop out on me! I'm not done with you yet!"

"I think you are." A male voice echoed around the room, making it difficult for Michael to spot where it was coming from. But he didn't need to spot him. He would show his face sooner or later. It was the voice that had been carved into Michael's brain ever since he heard it, ever since he came face to face with the man. It was the voice of the man he had been looking for. He smiled widely when he heard, "Let. Her. Go." Obviously the man was pissed. He laughed harsh and soundly. The Arrow was pissed at him! Finally! Something was going right in the world. He didn't let her go. Instead he grabbed her chin even harder, making her whimper in pain, "You hear that? Your boyfriend's here!"

Oliver eventually got what he was looking for as Johnathan realized he wasn't playing with him. He realized the Arrow would pay no mind if he died right then and there, in fact he'd probably have no remorse over it since he was just collateral damage in his crusade to save his beloved. That's what Johnathan thought, but he was wrong. Yes, he might have let him die, but with every life he takes, a part of his soul is being destroyed, never to be found again, changing him fundamentally, darkening his horizons until there will be no light left. And he knew if Felicity were gone forever, his end would come sooner. So, when he walked into the abandoned building and found her alive his heart almost leaped out of his chest. As he got a closer look his protective instincts kicked in. He didn't care if he was being reckless not waiting to see if the others had arrived, he just wanted to get Felicity out of there, to rip apart the chains this monster had put her in, to just get his filthy hands off of her. So he intervened without thinking first. He told him to let her go. He saw he didn't listen, so he got an arrow out of his quiver, he breathed, and aimed, remembering Yao Fei's words to him back when he had found him on the island._ "You breathe, you survive here longer."_

As Oliver saw the reaction of the man at the Arrow flying right above his head in a warning shot, and he didn't even flinch, he knew he had been played. Michael had been waiting for him. He had wanted him to find him. He turned around abruptly, spreading his arms wide in welcoming, "Finally! You're here! What took you so long?!" Oliver though, didn't give in to his game. He was not here to play. He was on a mission. "Step away from her. One wrong move and I will end you." The tone in his voice could cut a diamond in a thousand pieces, however Michael seemed unfazed.

"Oh, her you mean?" he asked in a sickeningly innocent tone, pointing behind him. He turned towards her, caressing her scarred face, "Why don't you tell him how much fun we've had, sweetheart?" he turned to look at him as he said, "you should have been here. Her reactions were just… heaven."

Oliver saw red. The anger inside him flared in impossible degrees, the rage that had been controlled so far slipped his fences, he felt his humanity leave him. He wasn't going to let this psychopath talk that way about Felicity. Felicity was an angel sent from heaven somehow stumbling in his path of vengeance and justice and every man needed to acknowledge that. "Enough!" he shouted, giving him one last chance.

But Michael didn't get the message. "You know, she has humor! But it was uncalled for, and when I punished her for it, she let out this loud cry… God, it was music in my ears! I should have filmed it for you," Michael kept on pushing him, pushing his buttons, making him as angry as he could, waiting for his chance to fight him. He was just playing his souls strings into his own great play, waiting for just the right emotions to be playing around his head that would send him over the edge.

Oliver did not even realize he was gripping the bow so hard his knuckles turned white, and he definitely didn't realize he was letting go of the string he was holding, ready to make the killing shot until Felicity's voice reached his ears.

"Oliver don't!" Felicity screamed trying to get his attention, trying to get him out of the death's valley his head was in.

Oliver barely had the time to turn the arrow just a degree to the left when the arrow slipped his fingertips and flew to find its target. It found Michael's shoulder, and the man didn't even cry out in pain as the arrow penetrated his body. Instead he welcomed it.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Michael shouted triumphantly. "Come on! Shoot another one!"

"No!" Felicity shouted, trying to get through to Oliver.

"Do you want me to recount every single move, every single touch, every single cry of pain she let out because of me?"

Michael continued taunting him, but Felicity kept trying to stop him. There were so many voices in his head right now, he was losing his focus.

"Man, you sure have a sweet chick right there. Her skin, so pale and so soft. The final touch being the scars I left her. It was like painting a canvas. A very beautiful one at that." Michael kept talking, trying to rile him up, but the little blonde just wouldn't keep her mouth shut. He could shut her once and for all, but he knew if he did that, he would be unleashing a tornado he could never escape.

"Oliver! Don't listen to him!"

Oliver stopped paying attention to the psychopath in front of him. Instead he focused on Felicity. He looked at her closely. He looked at the dried blood on her face, at her bruised cheek, her wounded collarbone and stomach. This woman was so strong. So strong and she didn't even know it. She had endured this torture, and even after everything she was still trying to save him. She was still trying to bring him back to the light. He focused on her, his heart breaking at seeing tears leaving her eyes, her body rocking with silent sobs.

Felicity knew he had his attention. She could see his eyes taking her in, watching every inch of her body, counting every wound. She could see the unbearable pain in those blue orbs, she just wanted to wrap him in his arms and never let go. But right now, she needed him not to lose himself. "This is not who you are, Oliver. You are not a killer. You've never been one."

"Felicity-"

"No! You listen to me, Oliver Queen. You are a good man," she said with tears raining down her face. "You are the best I've ever met. You are not perfect, nobody is. But you are not a murderer. You hear me? You're not. You're a hero." She took a breath, looking at him his body still rigid, but his breathing fast. She was getting through. "You're my hero." She admitted her voice breaking as one of her biggest secrets was being revealed.

Oliver closed his eyes as Felicity's words washed over him. She was right. Once again, she was right. He was not a killer. At least not anymore. He had been blinded and played by someone who was after him, by someone who held a vendetta against him and he just walked right into his net. Well, now it was time for him to cut the rope and do what he wanted to do in the first place, bring Felicity home. He would make sure justice found its way to Michael, and that's why he grabbed a different kind or arrow. He put them on his bow, pulled the string and released them, letting the arrows wrap Michael in a net of their own. He trapped him against the wall and he called Digg over the comm, who had been waiting outside with Roy, to call the cops. He then cut Felicity's chains by throwing arrows at the offending metal, a feeling he did not recognize growing in his heart as he saw that she didn't flinch, as he saw the complete trust she had in him. He rushed to her side immediately, "Are you okay?" he asked as he un-wrapped the chains from her limbs.

"I'm fine." She whispered, the adrenaline leaving her body limp, the darkness creeping even closer.

"Hey, don't sleep on me," he said softly, shaking her. Her wounds were deep and they were still bleeding. He needed her to stay awake. He grabbed her as gently as he could, putting one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, "Let's get you home."

* * *

Oliver always kept an extra bag of clothes in the van, but he never thought this was the situation he was going to need them for; getting Felicity as fast as possible to the nearest hospital. He kept checking over her, asking her if she was hurting anywhere else, but every time she said she was fine. Oliver, though, could see that she was not. So he told Dig to drive to the nearest hospital while Oliver changed in the back. Felicity had weakly objected at first, saying that they could take care of her wounds back at the foundry, but Oliver was having none of that.

So that was how Oliver found himself sitting on Felicity's bedside in the hospital holding her hand, while she gave a statement to the police. Diggle had gone home to Lyla after he made sure Felicity was okay and Roy had done the same. So it was Oliver that had to sit here and listen to Felicity making up her own story about what happened. How someone had kidnapped her wanting her to hack into the FBI system, what for she didn't know, but when he refused the man hit her. He didn't dare to look at Felicity during the whole story-telling. The guilt he carried inside was too much. It had been proven time and time again that this was a dangerous path for Felicity to be in, but it's not that he couldn't see that. He could, he just didn't want to. Because acknowledging that meant pushing her away. It meant letting her go. And there was no life he could imagine living without Felicity Smoak being a part of it. But maybe, it was time for her to move on her own way, without having Oliver pushing her back and putting her in harm's way.

The officers were gone and Oliver had not lifted his head up, he hadn't realized it. Felicity noticed his silence. She also noticed that he refused to meet her eyes ever since they brought her here. His shoulders were slumped and she could practically hear the gears in his mind turn. He was thinking. Of what she didn't know, but she could guess. The guilt oozed off of him in such great quantity, she could feel it palpable in the atmosphere surrounding them. She finally laid a hand on the arm she could reach, without pulling her stiches too much, asking him, "hey, what's wrong?"

Oliver knew what he had to do. And as he lifted his head he looked into her eyes and said, "I think that maybe you should go back on your day job."

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"I mean that it is dangerous here, and if I can't protect you…"

She looked at him for a moment before she scoffed and shook her head, taking her hand away from him, "You are so not pulling this crap on me. Not now. Not after everything that's happened." At his surprised look, she went on. "Oliver, I am not some damsel in distress that needs saving. Okay, maybe this time I was, but this time is not every time." She looked at him meaningfully trying to make him understand that she didn't mind the risk. She was aware of it. She has been aware of it ever since she agreed to join his crusade and she was still there. She was not going anywhere.

Oliver paused, pressing his lips in a tight line before he said, "That doesn't mean there's not going to be another time."

"I don't care. Do you know what I say? I say let it. Let it be there another time like this."

"Felicity you can't-"Oliver interrupted but Felicity wasn't done talking.

"Oliver, what we do here, is what I've been missing my whole life. I've always wanted to make a change in the world. That's why I'm into computers, because they have the power to change us, to change our lives, to make things easier and better for us to live. But working with you, at first it was about the mysteries. About why people did what they did, about who was behind all of that. I hate mysteries. They bug me and I can't stop until I solve them. But as time went by, I saw the law fail humanity. I saw people who deserved to be beaten walk away. And you gave them what they deserved. You brought justice in this city. You brought hope. People believe in you. I believe in you. And I believe you will always be there for me when I get in trouble, as I am for you."

During the whole speech tears have been gathering into Oliver's eyes. Tears that he was not going to shed. But for once they were not tears of pain or guilt or self-hate. They were tears of happiness and overwhelming emotions of the love he felt for the woman right in front of him. Because that was what this unknown feeling in the pit of his stomach was. It was love, love he's never felt for anyone before. Love that scared the crap out of him, but he still didn't want to stop feeling it. "I might not always be on time."

"That's okay. I can always survive a few more minutes if it means I get to see you." She smiled, but as she saw Oliver tense she realized the meaning behind her words, and she blushed cherry red. She made to correct her sentence, even though she didn't know how she could salvage this since every word she said was true, but Oliver's chuckle stopped her.

He shook his head at her fondly. Her no brain-to-mouth-filter was one of the qualities he loved about her. It was one of her qualities that put a genuine smile on his face and it was one he realized he couldn't live without. "Felicity, you're remarkable. And I love you. So damn much." The words left his lips and for once he didn't want to take them back. He didn't wish he hadn't said them. He wanted her. He wanted to be with her. He wanted it all.

"What are you saying Oliver?" Felicity asked, afraid for what this conversation could lead too. It was either going to be the best moment of her life, or the worst one.

"You are my salvation, Felicity. And I cannot live without you. I wish I could so that you could be safer, but when it comes to you I can't control myself. I want to be with you, Felicity, if you'll have me."

"Are you sure? You're not just saying to leave me later because you know last time-"

Oliver could see that she was ready to get into one of her rambles, so she stopped her, "Last time I was wrong. I can't promise you it won't be easy, that I won't try to push you away sometimes, that I won't be overprotective when it comes to you. But I don't want to see you moving on with another man, getting married and having a bunch of kids, living happily ever after. I want that man to be me."

Felicity couldn't stop the smile from her lips even if you gave her her own personal satellite. She was beyond happy at the moment, and no one could steal that from her. "I want that too," she almost whispered.

Oliver couldn't describe the happiness he felt at the moment. For once something in his life turned out good, better that he ever hoped for and he couldn't hide his glee about it. He leaned in closer to her, leaning his forehead on hers, looking her in the eyes. He heard her breath catch in her throat and he was surprised to find he was in a similar state. She was intoxicating. The world dissolved around him as he looked into those blue eyes. Everything was Felicity. His heart skipped a bit when his lips touched hers in a hesitant kiss, but when he felt her return the pressure, all of his doubts and hesitations went away. He just kissed her like the way he had been wanting to kiss her for so long now. Deeply, slowly, passionately, the kind of kiss that left his knees weak and his heart beating faster than ever. He tried to put every feeling he couldn't convey with words into that single kiss, and when they came up for air, he was feeling dizzy and hazy from happiness and love for this woman. It was the first time he had no intention of masking that feeling. Finally he could be himself. He could be free.

* * *

Michael James Richardson was currently under arrest. An anonymous tip had come in saying where to find him, as it usually happened with the Arrow, and Captain Lance got at the scene as fast as he could to catch the one he felt had betrayed him. The Arrow had left him injured but alive. He probably deserved it. He had just asked him his last question for his confession and was ready to leave the ambulance that was now waiting to get him to the hospital, when something the man said made him freeze.

"I know his name."

Captain Lance turned around to look at him, but he didn't utter a word.

"I can give it to you." Michael tried again, grasping at straws to make some kind of deal. "You can catch the man you've been looking for all these years. You can get him off the streets. You will be named a hero."

Captain Lance considered it. Lately the Arrow had been the closest he's had to a partner. He had helped him out in more occasions that he could count, and this was the first time he ever got so close to getting his name. At first he had been all for getting the bastard and finding out who was really hiding under that hood. But later he realized that law was not always enough, that it didn't always bring justice. Sometimes the law failed this city and the Arrow was the one that changed that. He brought justice without killing people, and when he did that Quentin started seeing him for who he really was. A guardian angel hidden in the shadows without hesitating to step in when this city needed him. "Don't waste your breath. I don't need to know his name. All I need from him is to keep doing what he does and keep putting away scumbags like you."

It was true. This city didn't need a name. The Arrow was a symbol of hope for Starling City. Anyone could be the hood, anyone could be a hero as long as they kept their mission on focus, and as long as they kept the best interest for this city and the people they loved in mind. Starling City could finally have a bright future.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Review follow, favorite, anything you want! I'd like your feedback on this! **

**Thank you again everyone! I know I say it a lot, but I still don't think it's enough.**

**So, untill next time...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone!**

**So, I know I said that chapter 3 would be the last chapter, but as a kind person noted (thank you for pointing it out btw) there were some important things left unsaid. Like Felicity called Oliver's name in front of Michael, what happens now? Why was Michael so obsessed with killing the Arrow? Why didn't he let his brother in on the plan?**

**These are the things you will find out in this final chapter. I hope it answers all of your questions and if you have any more, don't hesitate to tell me!**

**Enjoy!**

Johnathan got to the hospital immediately after he gave the Arrow all he needed to know. He was arrested as an accessory in breaking and entering, since according to his confession he was the one that told Michael to steal the files. He was currently cuffed to the bed barely conscious, and the doctors said he was in a critical situation. He had lost a lot of blood and they didn't know if he was going to make it. They said that the first 24 hours were critical. They suggested he rests, however the patient was not acquiescent with the doctors' orders. He insisted on talking to his brother as a last wish, in case this was his last night alive. He intended on keeping himself awake until he was granted his own wish. It required some persuasion, but the officers granted his wish and they brought Michael to the hospital first before he was to be sent to the SCPD. When Michael walked in in handcuffs it was as if Johnathan was wide awake now. Michael sat on a chair and when he did, Johnathan gestured to the two officers waiting at the door, "Could we get some privacy, please?"

The officers looked at each other unsure of what to do, but Michael interrupted their silent conversation, "He's my brother for God's sake. It's not like I'm going to kill him, is it?"

"But you could free him," one of them pointed out.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're kind of on the same boat here," Johnathan said pointing to their handcuffs. When the officers closed the door behind them giving them the privacy they asked for, Michael turned to him asking how he was feeling. "I'm fine. I'll survive. I think." At his brother's unamused look he added, "I just pretended I wasn't, so that I could see you. I don't know if we'll share a jail cell or something." Apparently his attempt at joking did not have the results he was looking for, so he asked what he was dying to know. "What happened?"

It seemed as if the question brought some light to Michael's eyes as he started speaking animatedly about it, "I just- I had him, you know? I had him right where I wanted him, but that stupid blonde bimbo just didn't know how to shut up. She-" when Michael looked at his brother's face, he saw the disapproving look he was giving him and stopped speaking. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Was that your plan all along?" Johnathan asked afraid of the answer. But he didn't get one in the form of words. Instead, Michael didn't speak; he looked away and avoided looking at his eyes. That was answer enough. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you would try to stop me! And I swore that night that NOTHING and NO ONE would get in my way!"

Johnathan was stunned into silence. They rarely spoke of that night, the night their lives took a 180 degrees turn. He had no idea of that promise. Michael had never talked about such thing. All he ever said was that the Arrow was a criminal and a nutjob and needed to be brought to justice. He said that if the police wouldn't do it, then he'd have to. Yes, he hated the guy with a passion, but Michael never indicated that he planned such atrocities for the near future. Maybe the signs were there and Johnathan didn't pay attention. But he thought he knew his brother like no one else. But now he doubted that, because right now he was struggling to recognize the man that was standing in front of him. "Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked grasping for straws that his brother, the man he trusted with anything and trusted him back, was still there. But his silence became overbearing. He knew what it meant. He had had no intentions of ever telling him until he got caught. And now he did. "Get out." He said almost whispering.

"John-" Michael tried, but Johnathan didn't let him finish. Michael knew he was mad at him, he just wanted… he didn't even know what he wanted to say.

"Just get the fuck out of here Michael!" Johnathan yelled with the last energy he had left. Then the door burst open with the two officers coming in to see what the fuss was all about. When Johnathan saw them, he told them to get his brother out of here. The officers complied, each of them grabbing one arm dragging Michael outside. He protested, calling out his brother's name, begging him to listen. But Johnathan didn't want to listen. He had no idea who was the man his brother had become, and right now he was not ready to find out.

* * *

They were still at the hospital and Felicity's medication had started to kick in. She was getting more tired by the minute. She told him that he could go home, but there was no way he was going to do that. Now that he found her, he had no intention of letting her go.

She was closing her eyes to try and get some sleep, when they opened up abruptly, "Oh my God!" she looked at Oliver with wide eyes filling with unshed tears and fear. She remembered. She remembered what she had done wrong. She had been tortured into revealing the man under the hood and she had done it in a matter of seconds.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" Oliver jumped the moment he saw her distress.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to say it. It's just you looked so lost and I needed you to hear me. I needed you to listen to me and get out of that stubborn head of yours and now you're going to hate me and you're going to ask me to leave and oh my God! You're going to get arrested! Because of me! You'll think I've ruined your life and rightly so-"

She was panicking. The heart monitor showed her heart rate elevating fast and he had no idea what caused it. And how could she ever think he could ever hate her? Even if she hacked into everyone's computer and showed a banner which revealed his identity as the Arrow, he still wouldn't hate her. He'd be hurt, sure, but he couldn't hate her. "Felicity," he said firmly, silencing her with a finger on her mouth. Now that he had her attention he asked again calmly, "Are you hurt?" When she shook her head no, Oliver was relieved, but still confused. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"I called your name," she admitted, her voice breaking, not able to hold back the tears in her eyes anymore. They had worked so hard, Oliver had done everything he could to keep his other life a secret. He had pushed everyone away, he had had to lie to his family constantly, and she ruined everything in a second. She did what they all swore they'd never do. She called his name while he was wearing the hood.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, thinking back. But it was all a blur for him. All he remembered was taking down the bad cop with the personal vendetta, a vendetta he had no idea what it was about but he wasn't rushing to find out, and having Felicity in his arms again. That was all he had kept from that night, all he needed to remember to keep him sane.

Oliver tried to touch her, grab her hand, but she pulled away. She knew once he realized what she was talking about he would be disgusted with her and he wouldn't want to see her again. "I called your name, Oliver. Your real name. When he was trying to rile you up, I needed to get your attention, so I called your name. I promise I didn't mean to-to compromise your identity. I needed you to listen to me. I didn't want to see you kill someone because of me." She admitted in a hoarse whisper.

At first Oliver tensed as he remembered her calling his name. But at the same time he understood. He understood why she did it. Of course it made him angry that the identity he had tried so hard to protect could now easily be out in the open. But he understood. He pushed the anger back, not letting her see, because it was something he did not held her accountable for. It was something he forgave her about. But he didn't forgive himself for not noticing sooner. But there still was time. He could still fix this. He had no idea how. But he would. "Felicity-" he was ready to say that it's okay, but it wasn't. He didn't want to make her feel guiltier than she already did. "I will fix it."

"How? What if he's already talked to the police? What if he's already told them your name? What if they're coming for you right now? What if-"

"Felicity. Don't. I'll fix it. Okay?" he didn't get a reply. She was still crying silently and it broke his heart seeing her that way. He hated that he couldn't lie to her and say that it was okay. He needed to fix this right now. "I'll be back," he said, kissing her on her forehead, grabbing his jacket before he left.

He got his phone out while walking fast and dialed the number he now knew by heart, and after making sure the voice modulator was on he put the phone on his ear waiting for the other line to pick it up. When they did, he said "Captain Lance. I need a favor."

* * *

After making a stop to the foundry to suit up and choose his weapons, Oliver broke in the SCPD and headed for the interrogation room. He had arranged with Captain Lance that Michael Richardson, the cop who kidnapped Felicity and tortured her would be waiting for him.

"_Why do you want to meet with the guy? Wasn't one arrow on the shoulder enough?" Captain Lance asked._

"_He has some crucial information that I need to make sure will never come out," Oliver replied vaguely._

"_He really knows your name, doesn't he?" Lance said, and when the Arrow didn't reply he continued, "Look, I told him I didn't want to know. But I guess I can do this favor if it's necessary."_

"_It is. Thank you, Captain."_

So that's how Oliver found himself facing the man that almost made him kill again. The man that almost made him go back on the promise he had made to his best friend, Tommy, that he was not going to be a killer anymore, that he was not a murderer.

"If I knew I'd get a visit from you, I would have dressed up nicely," Michael said calmly when he saw the Arrow sneak in.

The truth was everything about Michael's behavior bugged him. Michael was not afraid of him, he did not idolize him, he did not think of him as an equal. He just wanted him gone. He just wanted to defeat him. He wanted to feel the satisfaction of ceasing from existence his mortal enemy. The thing is he didn't know why he hated him, why he went after him the first place. Judging by his reactions so far, even if he threatened him no matter how lethal he sounded, Michael would just take his threat in his hands carefully like fine china and drop it on the floor in a heartbeat, breaking it into a million pieces. He needed to fix this. There was too much at stake, and for that to happen he needed to know how he wronged Michael in the first place. "Why do you hate me?"

Michael looked at him for a moment, "Are you serious?" He asked incredulously. "You honestly don't know?" When the man under the green hood did not reply, Michael took his silence as a yes. "Of course. Why would you know? It's not like you've killed people! It's not like you've taken families apart! It's not like you've ruined people's lives, is it?!"As he spoke, Michael got angrier and angrier. He found anger inside his body he didn't even know existed. The man standing before him, if he even was that, was the one that ruined his life. He was the one that took his world and whirled it around until everything fell out of place never to find their way back.

"I have. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about what I had to do to survive." Oliver said, trying to swallow the lump in his throat as pure honesty came out of him to that stranger.

"Bullshit!" Michael shouted pushing the table and springing out of his chair. "You have no idea what you've done! What people have gone through because of you! What I've gone through!" he screamed at him, pointing at himself.

Oliver didn't speak. He just let him let it all out. He could see the boiling rage inside the man, and he knew from experience it didn't benefit anyone keeping such emotions bottled up inside. It didn't matter that he was on the receiving end. Either way, he was supposed to be on the receiving end since he was obviously the source of Michael's pain.

The hood's silence frustrated him. It lit up sparks inside him making him fuming with anger. He just felt like he needed to rub his pain in the Arrow's face. He felt like he needed him to feel the guilt and anger he felt. He needed him to pay for what he's done and not just physically, but emotionally as well. He stepped closer to him, like a lion walking to his prey, "Do you remember when those bulky men raided the city? Do you remember when they burnt houses down? When they killed people just because they wanted to? Do you remember when they just dragged women and children on the road just because they felt like it? Do you?!" Judging by the stiffness the Arrow's body had come to rest in, he could see that he did remember. Well he remembered something more. "One of the woman and children was my mother and my baby sister. Dad was never in the picture, so mom was everything to me. To us. And my sister, she was just a stubborn, brave as hell five-year-old." He laughed humorlessly as memories of that night passed through his mind like a freight train, and he was just here explaining it all to the man that got them in that situation in the first place. But for some reason he couldn't stop. "One of those men grabbed my mom, holding her at arm's length, his filthy hand wrapped around my mom's neck, slowly, painfully suffocating her. John was knocked out, but when I saw… When I saw I ran to her, but one of them got in my way. I was supposed to watch my little sis, but with them on me… She just ran to mom and jumped the guy. But she was just so small. All it took was one kick from him and she was gone. She died. God, she was brave, but so fragile. I almost died too that night. If it wasn't for John, I would have." He hadn't realized that tears were running from his eyes until he felt them soak his shirt. He abruptly turned away, not wanting to be seen as weak, not for another second. He had fought so hard to stop the tears from ever coming again back then, to be strong for everyone that pitied him, he was not going to stop now. Eventually since the heart of his hellhole was standing right there.

Oliver hadn't known. Yes, he had tried to save the people in his city, to protect them, to do right by them. He knew sometimes grief and pain and destruction was inevitable and it killed him that it couldn't be different. But he didn't know. He hadn't lived their lives. He hadn't experiences their sorrows first hand. He knew of their existence, but he didn't know of their extent. All this time he thought he had been doing the right this, even if there were times that he failed. Now, he wasn't so sure.

As he put himself back together, Michael said "Imagine my surprise when I learned that you the cause of that." He turned around to look at him and found the Arrow looking back at him suspiciously and shocked at the revelation. Of course. He probably thought that the shitty cover story of the SCPD regarding the events of that night would be enough, that it would be believable and no one had any reason to question it or look into it. But being assigned to the investigation of Isabel Rochev's death had a different impact on his perspective of things.

Isabel Rochev had been declared dead, caught in the crossfires of the events of that night. But her family was hesitant to believe so and they were powerful enough to pull some strings and convince the SCPD to investigate her death further. Captain Lance, thinking that it was an easy case full of desk-job, gave it to him not thinking twice about it. The things he found, though, changed everything. "They died because of you!" he yelled pointing a finger at his chest. He calmed his voice and said in an almost whisper, "and I won't stop until you're ten feet underground, Oliver Queen."

Oliver knew that it was over. That moment, he knew there was nothing he could do or say to fix this. There was no way to prevent his secret from getting out. He looked into Michael's eyes and he could see there was no way to stop him. He was on a journey with a final destination and no stops in between. There were no distractions, no forks on the road, no cross-roads. Michael was not going to stop unless he killed the Arrow himself.

He thought about it. He pictured himself letting go, letting Michael go through with his plan. Maybe the world would be a better place then. There would be no more sorrows and pain caused by him, no more failing heroes wanna-bes, no more killings, no more revenge in his name. But then, he saw Felicity cold and alone in a world full of secrets and lies and injustice. He saw her standing over his tombstone with her arms wrapped around herself and tears ruining her make-up. He saw Diggle next to her, trying to comfort her and himself. He could see John mutter under his breath, "Dammit, Oliver." He saw Roy standing a few feet next to them saying, "I begged you not to abandon me. Ever". Last of all, he saw Thea, silently crying leaving some flowers on his grave saying good-bye and then flying out of the city never to return again.

He couldn't let Michael go through with his plan. He was not afraid of death. He had come near him many times after all. But he was afraid for the lives of all the people he would be leaving behind. The last thing he wanted to do was create a hole in their heart so dark it could tear their soul apart piece by piece. He saw no other way. He had to stop him, whatever that meant.

When he went to the foundry before he came here, he took one last thing before he left. He took what he wished he didn't have to use. He took a double syringe half filled with Vertigo, the drug that induced fear into your body. The dose was not high enough to kill him, but with the drug in his system, he would see his greatest fear in front of him all the time. He would be declared insane and no one would believe a thing he said. His secret will be safe. The people he loves will be safe. He grabbed the syringe from a secret pocket in his suit and immediately stabbed Michael with it. "I'm sorry," Oliver said before he emptied the continents into Michael's body. He was sorry for everything. The man had no time to react, no time for his brain to catch up with reality. There was only time enough for the drug to kick in and Michael to start screaming and backing away from him.

Before Oliver had time to leave, the door sprang open and Captain Lance came running in to see what the commotion was all about. When he saw Michael huddled in the corner, he ran to his aid, but that drove Michael into a frenzy. He kept on screaming and kicking and calling for help. Captain Lance turned to him, "What did you do?" But Oliver didn't answer, and when he didn't, Lance asked again, "What did you do to him?!" Quentin looked around and his eyes fell on the empty syringe lying on the floor. The Arrow didn't have to tell him what it was. He knew. It was Vertigo. "What have you done?" The Arrow stayed silent, looking into space. It was as if he wasn't even listening. But somehow Lance knew he was paying attention to every single word. "Have you gone back to being a killer? Is that it?"

"The dose was not enough to kill him, it only compromised his sanity. I'm sorry Captain. I did what I had to do. No one can know my secret." That's all Oliver said and got out of there. He went back to the foundry to change clothes and leave his weapons and then went on his way to the hospital.

He didn't let himself think about what he had done until he arrived at the hospital, until he was at the open door of Felicity's room, looking at her delicate form bundled up in the blue hospital blankets, sleeping. That was when he realized he hurt a man today. He had done it before, but this time it was different. Because this time it had been intentional. This time happened exactly what he wanted to happen. The other times it was a necessity or simply self-defense. Today it was neither.

Felicity must have felt his presence, because next thing he knew her eyes were opening taking him in with a smile. "You're back," she said grinning, until the grin fell from her face obviously remembering where he had come from. He saw her bite her lip, and he knew what she was thinking, what she wanted to ask, but was afraid to. "Hey," he said stepping closer to her, "we're fine. We're safe. I took care of it." He kissed her forehead once in reassurance.

His vagueness was not enough for Felicity Smoak, though. She needed to know what happened. She needed to know if he was okay. She hated secrets and mysteries. "Did you... Did you kill him?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, I didn't. I-" Oliver stopped not wanting to say more, ashamed of what he had done, afraid of what Felicity might think. But she deserved to know the truth no matter the cost. "I drugged him. With Vertigo." He didn't dare look at Felicity. He didn't know what he would find if he lifted his head up. When the silence lasted a minute too long, he lifted his head and was surprised and confused by what he saw. He saw Felicity look at him with compassion and sadness in her eyes. There was no fear, no hate, no disgust. At that look he couldn't stop the words from escaping his mouth. He needed her to understand why he did what he did. He needed her to understand that he had no other choice. "I just- I saw that I would never be able to stop him. And he wouldn't stop until I was dead. I saw it in his eyes. It was a look I've seen too many times. A look of destructive determination. He was going to do whatever it took to get his revenge. He was going to stop at nothing. He hurt you to draw me out. He- It was him or me. I didn't have a choice," he ended with a whisper.

Felicity reached up to his face, touching his cheek with her hand. A feeling of butterflies flying around in her stomach erupted in her when he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. "I know," she said. She understood he was only trying to protect them. She knew what being the Arrow entailed and she would never hold that against him. He'd do anything to protect the ones he loved, and she was amazed but that quality of his every time it came to the surface. He was the bravest man she's ever known. "You're a good man, Oliver Queen," she said, still not being able to believe that the man standing in front of her was hers. She saw he made a move to protest, but she stopped him, "I know you don't believe it, but I believe enough for the both of us."

"You've always seen the good in me, Felicity."

"And I always will."

* * *

**What did you think? Was this a better ending?**

**Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, followed, favorited the story and everyone who will. I really appreciate your support.**

**Thank you for reading! Till next time...**


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